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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 5.11 - FEBRUARY 2001
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Choosing A School Thanks and keep up the good work, Josh Heyer Spare Us I am a firm believer in anti-racism and strongly believe that those who are talented should be given credit and praise, no matter what race, religion or creed they are. In your case, however, you have not only fulfilled the reverse racist role, but have made yourself examples of what this country should not pay attention to. I was first introduced to you and your company by Animation World Magazine that had an article, "Urban Entertainment: Siting A Skyline Across the Net" (Dannacher, 5.09). I read the interview and was left with an extremely bad taste in my mouth. I had to see how and why this magazine could spoon feed garbage to not only me, but the whole world. I decided to write the magazine and explain why I felt their choice in content was unacceptable and also explained why. I then decided to visit your Website. I was not surprised to find, that before I actually visited your Website, my letter to the magazine was justified. Your content was even more than I had imagined. A black man with a gold chain around his neck in bed with a white, long blond haired woman. Original? Not really. Pure black Warhol! ... and yes ... I said black not African American, due to your content, representation and street thug content within your scripts. Hasn't society had enough of "ghetto behavior?" I can't believe any educated African American would appreciate to stand by your content and be proud of his/her association with that aspect. I simply say, "Grow up and represent something to be proud of black America!" Now you must be thinking... "What a jerk!" or "Who does this guy think he is?" or maybe, "Let's get that mutha!" Actually, I grew up in Carbondale, Illinois in a predominantly black school, fighting every day for a decent education, which I later received after I left Illinois. I learned many of the black social aspects growing up in that environment and have much to say about our cultural differences, but I will not. I can only hope my children do not experience and suffer some of those life lessons that I have experienced and now live with deep in my heart. Your company is as distasteful as it gets and relies upon the shock treatment attempting to destroy the neural fiber of society's creative mind. It is very unclassy and to me smelled like African-American street ghetto spirit. Is it something to be proud of? I don't know, but I certainly lived it, breathed it, and detested it during my schooling in Southern Illinois. I was embarassed to say the least. I realized later in life that the social things that came out of me were plastic and not really made up of the substance that could produce anything artistic. In other words, I was not true to myself. It was later that I discovered myself, after moving to a socially and nourishing environment that looked at everyone as a talented individual. There, I began to draw things I could have never done while in my previous life-sucking environment. Was it dreamland I found? Maybe not, but I was lucky to have the opportunity to live in that community. I guess I blossomed to be who I really was and not what the street tried to raise me to be. I suppose if I were an African American, you would be taking this letter to heart, but since I am not an African American, I will not go into the details of my past, so enough about me. I wanted to make a few things in my letter clear. I guess my reason for this letter is not out of anger, hate or anything racist, but to let you know how I feel about the business, art and entertainment you are promoting. It is, in my belief, what is polluting the most vulnerable in our world today. There seems to be a thrill with the black culture in contaminating the quality and originality of life. Not all of us would agree that opening the pages to black/urban comedy is really all that funny or entertaining, because it's not! As many of us grew up with comic book heroes, we were very influenced by that genre of media. Don't think for a moment that it isn't as influential as many may believe, because I feel it is and hope your common sense would agree with me. Remember Fat Albert, Deathlok, Spawn, Cage, Storm, Black Lightning, Black Panther, Falcon and Captain Marvel? These were all black characters that influenced many, even myself. The street humor there was done in a style that had no offensive racial material. It was classic and will remain a true testament to its times. If you wish to be a voice in the crowd, do it just as tastefully, unlike your content now. I know that I am only one voice in the crowd, but if my weak yell is heard by you and contemplated for a few moments, then my message has hopefully been of use to you. I am familiar with the way controversy works in providing ammunition for interest and eventually popularity, so I won't bow down to it. I only wish that society didn't scab its knees in doing just that. In conclusion, your Website has given credit to those who once carried spray cans, guns and other socially disturbing weapons, the artistic software they need to now litter and deface the Internet. Maybe that's a step in the right direction, but learn to use the tools more wisely. Discover those black artists that provide more positive content and show exceptional intellectuality than what you seem to have now. Maybe you should teach your so called "creative crew" how to screen better material than what you have now, or possibly fire everyone and start over with a new creative department. One that can "represent" a little better. My hope is that this enlightens someone out there to shine better than the candy wrappers and over kicked tin cans lying on the saddened streets of our inner-city. Let's make the world a better place, not just a crappy race. Thank you for your ear, Duane Hooray for the Web Animation Guide Roque Ballesteros
My favorite AWN feature is the Web Animation Guide. I don't have cable, and there's so little animation on network TV these days that appeals to me, that the only way I can get my animation "fix" is Web cartoons. I seem to share similar interests with the individual who writes the column, so it helps me to decide what I want to spend my time waiting for my slow modem connection to download. It's a very handy guide to have for someone like me, and I really appreciate AWN making it available. My only wish is that Rick would at least mention some of the voice talents involved in the cartoons. That's often a deciding factor in what I choose to download because of my interest in voice actors. And the voice talents (particularly on icebox.com) are often one of the few redeeming qualities of lesser-quality Web cartoons. Thanks for your time, Editor's Note: Rick DeMott, our Associate Editor and official Web Animation Guide writer, has heard your call and is going to try to include more voice actors in the Guide. Thank you for the useful comment.
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